The police officer who shot and killed Mark Duggan — the act that sparked last month’s riot in Tottenham — is to return to firearms duties in a sign that the investigation is moving towards the conclusion that “no officer did anything wrong”, sources have told The Times.

A taxi driver who is believed to be the only independent witness to the shooting has indicated, however, that Mr Duggan “should not have been killed”.

He was shot in the chest on August 4 after officers specialising in gangland gun crime tailed the minicab in which he was travelling. They had intelligence that